Teaching the Bible to Auditory Learners

Photo by Ms Barrows

Our daughter is an auditory learner. She really does need to hear something to understand it better. She prefers having a teacher verbally tell her about a subject rather than trying to understand it by reading alone. It doesn’t mean she has poor reading comprehension, but just like a visual learner needs to see something to really understand it well, an auditory learner needs to hear it.

Fortunately for auditory learners, most Bible classes are set up just for them. Much of what is done involves listening to the teacher. If you teach a class, work on your story telling skills. For younger children, make sure you use different voices when different people speak. Even if you are reading the story exactly as written from the Bible, add the appropriate emotions to your voice. You don’t want to go overboard, but anything that adds depth and meaning to the auditory message being given is helpful.

If you have a child who is attempting independent Bible reading and is an auditory learner, they may be struggling. I would highly suggest investing in an audio Bible. Make sure it is an easy to understand version (Shakespearean English will not do a lot to enhance a modern child’s understanding) and is preferably voiced by actors rather than just one voice reading the entire Bible.

We also learned from helping our daughter study over the years, that auditory learners study differently than visual learners. If your child is memorizing scripture, he will need to say it out loud numerous times. You may even want to consider buying songs that are scripture songs – where someone actually sings scriptures. Most Bible book stores will carry several options.

The great news for parents is that auditory learners get a lot from our discussions with them. Since listening is their preferred method of learning, they actually do hear and often absorb everything you are saying.

Although there are tests available to discover if your child is an auditory, visual or “hands-on” learner, the easy test for an auditory learner is if she often says “Just tell me”, especially when given something to read. Taking a little extra time to present the Bible in the way your child can best understand it, will help make God’s Words more meaningful to him. What is the best tool you have found to help your child who is an auditory learner study the Bible? I would love if you would share it with us in a comment below.

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Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking. Their daughter Katrina, who has been an integral part of their service adventures, attends Pepperdine University.
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